DREAM is one of the many organizations that normally holds their fights in a four-sided, square ring; however, for DREAM.12 the organization is debuting the "white cage" and say they will put on a show better than the UFC has ever done. Continuing to follow the UFC's model, DREAM.12 will also feature three-five minute rounds; a first for the organization.

Note: This may be easier to watch if you understand Japanese

DREAM also added Eddie Alvarez vs Kisunori Kikuno as well as Sik Park vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka to the event's line up. According to information released Tuesday at a press conference, the three-five minute rounds and "white cage" will only be used once a year.

DREAM.12 will be October 25 at the Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. It will be aired in the U.S. on HDNet.

Mesquite, Nevada - Every day, United States military personnel face a new battle as they return home from combat zones.

Addressing the desperate need to relieve the financial and emotional burdens caused by the physical and mental scars of war, Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy "The Natural" Couture created the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation. With a mission focused on raising money and awareness, the foundation's goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life.

"Having spent time in a uniform, it became a personal goal of mine to find a way to give back to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces for the sacrifices they make defending our freedoms. The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation was born out of that desire." Couture explained.

Tapping into his network of current and former MMA fighters, Couture is hosting a weekend fundraiser October 16-18 in Mesquite, Nevada. Xtreme Combat Weekend will include three days of scenario paintball, amateur MMA fights and "Xtreme" parties.

Participants & donors have the opportunity to play paintball against and alongside nationally recognized fighters including Randy Couture, Ryan Couture, Gray Maynard, Jay Hieron, and John Alessio.

The paintball games will be played exclusively at A Pirates Paradise's new field located 5 miles northeast of Mesquite. Owner Tim Andrus has spent the last two months preparing the 40-acre site for this event.

"The property borders and actually extends over the Virgin River. The thick scrub provides so much cover, we've had to plow roads and paths through the field, " Andrus said. "We're really excited to be the host site for Xtreme Combat Weekend. It's a great cause; Randy is an awesome guy, and we're doing something to help the troops."

A highlight of the weekend will come Saturday evening when up-and-coming fighters take center stage at the CasaBlanca Events center for amatuer MMA fights presented by Tuff-N-Uff. A separate ticketed event; seats will range from $20 for general admission to only $50 for ringside. Like all the weekend's events, proceeds support the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation.

Post fight, the public can meet up-and-coming fighters and some of their favorite MMA stars at an after fight night club in the CasaBlanca Hotel. A $15 cover charge applies, and this party is limited to persons age 21 and over.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

As many of you may know, Hiesman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, 47, will be making his MMA professional debut for Strikeforce in the near future. This morning he appeared on ESPN First Take to talk about his new interest and what he thinks of UFC President Dana White suggesting he's just a publicity stunt.

From an interview on Inside the Ultimate Fighter, Dana White: “I think it’s ridiculous,” said White. “People think we’re anti-competition? We’re anti-dumb competition. Doing stupid things like this, putting a 50 year old guy in the Octagon for the first time, and then going out there putting out press releases like it’s a big deal because you signed a 50-year-old Herschel Walker? Are you serious?”

Herschel respond to the quotes on this morning's ESPN interview,

"Who ever made him the guy to measure athletic talent?" said Walker. "I don't think Dana knows anything about athletic talent. He knows about fighters, which is different. He's running a show right now with heavyweights and I'll put dimes to donuts, all the heavyweights on his show right now I will beat. That's pretty easy to say."

I don't know if he could beat every heavyweight on the show, but maybe Darrin "Titties" Shoonover.

Walker closed by challenging White, "Dana always tells people to put their money where your mouth is. Dana says I'm so old? Why doesn't he step into the ring with me because he's been practicing [MMA], as well?"

We all have busy schedules, so this new segment is meant to take the top news from the previous couple of days and condense it into one, easy to read segment that you can enjoy over your lunch break... or anytime you feel like it.

Mike Swick vs Dan Hardy for UFC 105We reported this yesterday, as Mike Swick confirmed the fight without actually confirming it via his Twitter account. November 14th in Manchester, England Swick will get to take on British bad boy, Dan Hardy.

Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort to fight at UFC 108Both Brazilians have verbally agreed to fight January 2, in Las Vegas, NV. This will be Belfort's second fight since joining the UFC. He recently beat Rich "Ace" Franklin via TKO at a catch weight of 195#. The men will compete at 185# where Silva will defend his middle weight belt.

Chuck Liddell Does the TangoFor the second week in a row Liddell competed on Dancing with the Stars last night. His Tango was better than last week's Foxtrot & Salsa, but still needs work. Now five weeks into his intense dance training the former lightheavy weight champion is finally shedding his infamous round belly.

Sam Stout to possibly face Joe Lauzon in Jan.Lauzon has been out since this spring healing his knee. He underwent major surgery to repair the knee after his UFN headlining fight against Jeremy Stephens in February. Ahead of schedule on his recovery Lauzon thinks he can start camp soon and would be ready for a fight against Stout at UFC 108, January 2.

TUF alumni George Sotiropoulos and Jason Dent at UFC 106Taking place on the preliminary portion of the card, Dent (19-9) will look to break Sotiropoulos' undefeated Octagon record.

To close, a treat for you: KIMBO SLICE on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, but this is beyond anything put into words. "Alabama Pride" boast Tank Abbott vs Butterbean and the apparent debut of Rapper DMX. It's not known if this is an actual MMA fight or a celebrity boxing match with Eric Martinez. I suppose if you are in the Alabama area and need are curious if DMX will show up, you can always check it out.

Monday, September 28, 2009

As will become my Monday-night-routine for every Monday until Chuck Liddell is kicked off Dancing with the Stars, this evening I sat down for week two of the D-list celebrity studded show. Chuck and Anna took the stage early in the program showcasing his bare chest and donning a pair of MMA gloves for the first seconds of the routine.

After five weeks of 6-hour a day training the former lightheavy weight champion's infamous round belly is slowly shrinking, revealing the six-pack we all knew was there. Dancing the Tango, Chuck looked stiff and stearn, but better than last week's foxtrot & salsa. This week, Liddell seemed to genuinely be having fun and enjoying himself.

Remember, each week you can watch Dancing with the Stars on ABC. Tomorrow, Tuesday the 29th, is the elimination episode. Check local listings.

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, 35, rose to fame as an internet sensation brawling in backyards and knocking men out-debilitating most foes who challenged him. After a run with the now defunct EliteXC, Slice was told the only way he would be able to get into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was via the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Wednesday's episode, the third in a series of the twelve, will feature Kimbo Slice facing off against Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Nelson was the last heavyweight title holder of the also now defunct International Fight League (IFL).

On today's media conference call regarding Wednesday's episode, Slice shed light on certain facets of his life that those privy to his internet fame rarely see: his family life. He is a father of six children, three boys and three girls, and states that everything he has done has been for them.

"That's what it's about," said Slice. "I have three boys and three girls and they're not from the same female. I'm taking care of them; they are living with me under my roof, under my care, under my watch, and I'm responsible for them. So everything I do is a life lesson for myself and for them."

As a father to six children who range in age he knows it's important to instill the lessons he has learned in his children and continue to teach them as they grow. As every parent knows, what you pass on to your child make a difference in the choices they will go on to make.

"I compare real life situations with my life situations and I explain it to my kids and I teach it to my kids," said Slice. "Everything about me and the way I am and the way I became who I am started from when I was a kid. So now, knowing that, it's about paying attention to my kids and raising my kids the right way so they can either do better than I did or won't make the same mistakes I did."

As a means to ensure he can pay as much attention and time with his children as needed, Slice has started training with the elite group at south Florida's American Top Team. He wanted a camp that was close to home but could also offer him the stability, training, and knowledge of experience that he needs- ATT offers all of that and more.

Now preparing for his fight in December, Slice has been working with head instructor Ricardo Liborio to improve his ground game and make him a more well rounded fighter.

"Street fighting is one dimensional, you don't have to worry about anything but getting knocked the f**k down," said Slice. "In Mixed Martial Arts and being a professional fighter, you have to train, to be prepared because these guys got skills and these guys are professionals. You could be hurt."

We will be giving away Ong Bak DVD's as well as the movie Chocolate based on trivia from our show from yesterday. Listen to that show and be the first to email me the answer to each question.

First question:

Mike Schiavello told us a story about watching UFC 102 with Xtreme Couture and someone jumped up and tried to explain what Randy needed to do to get out of a submission hold that Nog had him in. What fighter was it and who did he try the hold on?

Update-

Ronald Young Jr. Was correct! The answer was Vitor Belfort and Tyson Griffin!

If you didn't get a chance to answer, don't worry, we have more Ong Bak DVD's and Chocolate DVD's to give away. Keep an eye out throughout the next couple of days! We will give away a Chocolate DVD later today!
Read more...

In a strange turn of events, Mike Swick will retain his opportunity to fight for the title if he is able to beat the very tough Dan Hardy according to MMAJunkie. This comes as a shock as no where was Hardy's name ever mentioned in the title hunt. Swick was to face Kampmann for a title show back at UFC 103 but sustained an injury that kept him out of the fight. While both are undefeated in the welterweight division, it is hard to say that either of them is a true number 1 contender. However, with GSP cleaning out the division there are very few challengers left for the title. If Dan Hardy wins, the UFC could find itself in a very strange position of promoting a fight between GSP and Hardy which would be a hard sell to even the most hardcore of fan. We will keep you informed of any other developments.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

An awesome show with 2 of the sports best commentators. Make sure you listen as we will be giving away Ong Bak DVD's based on trivia for this episode. The first question will be given on Monday, so listen now!

It's Mike Goldberg and Mike Schiavello on the same show! Listen in and win an Ong Bak DVD. We'll talk to both about what's going on in MMA, the UFC and more! Make sure you are there live so you can win some free swag! 3PM PST/6PM EST!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Regardless of what happens on next week's Ultimate Fighter, Kimbo Slice has a home in the UFC for the time being.

While not a surprise, it has at least finally be confirmed by Dana White to the LA Times that he will fight again. This isn't anything unexpected as the first week of the Ultimate Fighter did record ratings and the UFC has no intention of letting Kimbo go to Strikeforce. It's obvious that if for no other reason, Kimbo will be in the UFC as long as he gets ratings.

Weigh in results for this evening's Strikeforce Challenger's event in Bixby, OK (Bixby is 30 minutes south-east of Tulsa). The third edition of Strikeforce Challengers will be at the SprintBank Center.

Though this evening's event is only Strikeforce Challengers' third event rumors are already flying for who will be on the fifth installment of the organizations Challengers events. Recent reports state there is a verbal agreement between Kerry Vera and Kim Couture.

Vera, wife to UFC lightheavy weight fighter Brandon Vera, is 1-0 professionally, last competing at Bellator's BFC 6 in May. Couture, 33, is the now-ex-wife to MMA legend Randy Couture; she is 1-1 professionally. Since her divorce from Randy, Kim has swapped training facilities from Xtreme Couture to Tapout Training Center.

ONG BAK 2 is now available on VOD, Amazon and XBOX Marketplace! The film will also be in theaters Oct 23.

In celebration of Ong Bak 2 being released, we will be giving away DVD's of Ong Bak and Chocolate. Details below:

Make sure you listen to our show on Sunday at 3pm PST for more details. We will be giving away DVD's for the movie Ong Bak and Chocolate! Just listen in and be the first to respond to our questions and we'll hook you up!
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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Make no mistake the UFC treated me a lot better than Pride. If you get hurt in training in a UFC fight then will send you to the best doctors. If you get hurt in a Pride fight most of the time they will tell me "oh you better take care of that!" The UFC will always let you know in a timely matter who you will be fighting & give you enough time to train but with Pride if I knew 4 weeks ahead I would be happy cause most times they just give you a 2 weeks notice. Pride will rip you off on your merchandising but the UFC would find someway to hook you up on merchandising deals. Pride will make fights easier for certain fighters inside the ring (like standing up fights early). With the UFC whatever happens happens. The only thing I see the UFC needs to fix in this area is to get better judges. Ones who know about MMA & not from the boxing world. ...The reason why I'm talking about all this is that I feel like this whole situation could have been avoided if UFC would have respected me more & rescheduled the fight about a month or more in my hometown, which I know fights can be rescheduled because of the Matt Hughes & Matt Serra was postponed due to injuries. Instead, Dana went on the internet & started talking bad about my decision. All we had to do was come to a certain type of argreement or understanding, which later came after a lot of trash talk from Dana. My manager flew to Vegas & talked to them & tried to work things out like a MAN. & still I keep quite & I didn't talk trash back on the internet. The only reason why I'm even talking now is because I feel like I owe my fans an explanation because I am a MAN, a real MAN. Yeah I made good money with the UFC more than Pride, but I made both shows more money than they made me. I didn't care too much about Pride treating me like crap cause I was an American in a Japanese company. Now in my own country, I feel like I'm being disrepected. Everything is not about how much money you make. You could be the richest man in the world but if nobody repsects you then it don't mean shit. You can't buy respect. It should be earned. & thats what I'm all about.

Now Rashad wanna put his two cents in. Rashad remains to be a boy under me. He wins a few fights, and some of them I thought the judges fell asleep during the fight & woke up & saw him playing with his nipples & guessed he won. He knocked Chuck Liddel out when Chuck wasn't even the same man anymore. & now he thinks he's on my level. Yeah he talks about how he beat Forrest & I lost. But when I fought Forrest that was the worst Rampage I had ever seen. & I still know in my heart I won that fight. So now he's Mr. All Cocky & says I got a big mouth & talk a lot of smack. If my memory serves me correctly, he's the one that got into my face after the Jardine fight & started talking trash when he was the one that was originally supposed to fight me that night, but he told Dana on the phone he didn't want to fight. He wanted to keep his belt longer. Now, I'm not saying wether or not I would have beaten Machida, but I wouldn't have went out like a bitch like the way he did. So I'm the one that was looking forward to the Rashad fight the most. I have always been a fighter my whole life. As a kid my family treated me like shit which made me the person who I am today. This is why when I meet people I treat people the way I want to be treated (unless they approach me wrong or piss me off). I grew up thinking that I wasn't even important to my family which made me not even care about myself. That's why I can get knee-ed in the face 15 times & come back for more. That's why I can get my legs seriously hurt in a fight & still try to win. Thats why I can get my ribs broken in a fight & not tap out because my whole life I never thought I mattered to anybody or anybody cared about me. But now I have kids that love me & care about me & I'm not used to people caring about me but it feels good! I'm a very loyal person. Wolves are the most loyal animals on the planet. I was very loyal to the UFC, but now I owe all my loyalty to my kids... the ones who really care for me. The majority of my fights on the street I fought for free & they all were with emotion. I am a fighter, I will always be a fighter but my professional fights that were fought with emotion, I ended them all in devestating fashion. I am the wrong fighter that should fight pissed off professionally. I don't even consider it fair. So Rashad says he will fight me for free. I will gladly meet him at any gym & fight him just to shut his mouth up. & I mean that for real!

When I told Dana I did not want my belt back & that I just wanted to make money, it was around the time when they gave me Vanderlei & actually it was around the same time when my mind wasn't right (my mind was at TRUCK status) & that's the way I felt because I felt I had been robbed out of my belt. After the Jardine fight I did want my belt back because my family was so proud of me when I was champion & I want to make my family proud cause now I finally feel like my family cares about me & they accept me & this is what I've been wanting my whole childhood... for my family to like me. If I got to beat some ass for my family to like me, so be it. But now, I'm a grown man & I'll be damned if anybody disrespects me. I'm not having it, it's not happening!

Once upon a time, Mirko Cro Cop brought a symphony of violence to the Pride ring. His highest point was the destruction of all who stood in front of him during the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix. This was a Cro Cop that a majority of the American fans have never seen.

What a shame that most fans never experienced the thrill of seeing Cro Cop walk to the ring and strike fear in his opponents. UFC fans almost saw it in his first fight with Eddie Sanchez but were robbed of a Cro Cop KO that had become his signature. Most hardcore fans of the time were convinced that Gabriel Gonzaga would feel the wrath of the left high kick, but that was not to be. In a cruel twist of fate, Mirko was knocked out by the same move that had given him fame and notoriety.

We all know the story from here and it has since culminated at UFC 103 where Mirko couldn't find his rhythm, couldn't pull the trigger on attacks and came out of the fight as injured mentally as he has ever been physically. The bully that used to run through the majority of Pride was no more, and even more sad, seemingly never showed up to the UFC.

Now there are rumors that he is retiring, and of course rumors that he isn't. He's been quoted recently as saying that he is done, but also that he wants to finish out his contract with the UFC. He says time will tell if we will ever see him inside the Octagon again, but it seems to me that we will not. We may, however, see him in Dream destroying pro wrestlers and winning freak show fights before the final curtain has drawn to a close. This is hardly a fitting end to a man once thought to be the only person to beat Fedor.

I will remember Cro Cop as a legend of the sport. Someone who intimidated many, won despite being almost exclusively a striker and entertained millions of fans world wide. He had a personality that won't be matched and a style that can't be duplicated. I say to Mirko, best wishes and good luck.

The Ultimate Fighter offers behind-the-scenes footage you can view on SpikeTV's website. After last nights show this little jewel popped up. From the looks of things Darrill "Titties" Schoonover was telling -a slightly embelished- story to Coach Rashad and Coach Van Arsdale about catching a bird in the backyard of the house. James McSweeney, who had just gotten done fighting against Wes Shivers , didn't agree with how Schoonover

was telling the story. McSweeney proceeds to get into Schoonover's face about how exactly he caught the bird and what was done with it. Coach Rashad jumps in just as Team Rampage's assistant coach Hector Ramirez walks in the room and determines that Team Rashad may not be the basket full of flowers and fruit facade Rashad makes it out to be. Follow the link below to view the videoTrouble in ParadiseRead more...

DREAM has announced that DREAM.12 will be held in a six-sided cage. There is no word on whether this is a permanent change nor what spurred the change.Below is the video released by DREAM promoting the new cage.AFTER THE BREAK: The list of those confirmed to be competing at DREAM.12::Eddie Alvarez, Paulo Filho, Katsunori Kikuno, Yoshiro Maeda, Andrews Nakahara, Alistair Overeem, Kiyoshi Tamura and Marius Zaromskis were all featured in the above video as participants. However, the DREAM organization took to their website to announce the addition of Murilo "Ninja" Rua

Dana White took to the Carmichael Dave Show to voice his opinion on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson retiring from fighting.

In Jackson's blog post he stated he felt like White was mocking him and was "talking bad about the movie."

In White's response he states that he "talked to him as a friend and tried to talk him out of making a bad decision."

White's response:

“Because I got so pissed off at him pulling out of the fight with Rashad, I’m speaking my mind — he thinks I’m trying to ruin his movie career. It’s crazy. Listen, I have nothing bad to say about Rampage, he’s a grown man. If he decides he wants to walk away from guaranteed good money right now, he’s a grown man, he can do whatever he wants to do. What did I do to Rampage? I talked to him as a friend and tried to talk him out of making a bad decision. He doesn’t think it is, he thinks he’s gonna have a movie career but there’s so many fighters I’ve met over the years who thought they were gonna have movie careers. It’s not like he was going after Machida because he wanted the belt — he didn’t want the belt! He said the belt causes too many problems and he just wanted to fight and make money and feed his family — that’s exactly what he told me. All he’s been telling me since he got into the UFC is that he wants to fight in Memphis in front of his hometown. We make the fight in Memphis and then he pulls out of the fight because he wants to go make this movie because it has so much sentimental value to him. He’s a fighter, that’s what he does for a living. Now I’m going through all this crap where I got another fighter saying ‘You know what, this isn’t what I wanna do for the rest of my life, I wanna make movies, I wanna be a movie star, this is just a second career for me.’ Like I haven’t seen this one before. Rampage is a grown man. He’s acting like a baby right now but he’s a grown man. He wants to be in the movie business? Rampage, good luck to you man. I hope you make it big — and I’m not being sarcastic because Rampage Jackson is a guy that I do like. But Rampage Jackson is a guy that doesn’t always make the best decisions.”

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

After an illustrious career in both Japan and America, Quinton "rampage" Jackson has decided to hang up the 4 oz gloves & retire.

Most recently beating Keith Jardine, Rampage just finished filming "The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights" on which he was one of the head coaches. As with every other TUF season, Coach Jackson & Coach Rashad Evans were originally scheduled to fight on December 5, a week before the December 12 TUF finale. However, last month Rampage decided to postpone that fight in order to play Mr.T in the movie rendition of "The A-Team." After comments from UFC President (& Rampage's close friend) regarding his displeasure with Rampage's choice were made public many speculated Rampage would back out of his silver-screen obligations.

The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddel even when I clearly stated I wasn't ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn't know me but I took the fight and didn't complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.

Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.

Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn't want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn't have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn't even worth it to me financially).

Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn't make it to but I couldn't fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That's why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.

Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I'm hanging it up. I'm gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they'll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!

I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn't respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!

Two fighters with similar outcomes, but wildly different futures left the octagon last night. Mirko Cro Cop found himself with an obvious injury to his eye and no longer relevant in the heavyweight division. Rich just found himself picking the wrong opponent for his fighting style. Both lose in undeniable fashions, but each will be going in completely different directions from here on out.

Starting with Cro Cop, last night really exposed what Cro Cop's main weapon is: intimidation. If he doesn't intimidate his opponent, then it seems very unlikely that he will win or have even mild success against his opponent. Take last night for example. Cro Cop seemed very tentative and very hesitant to even throw a kick or put together any type of meaningful attack. Dos Santos was never afraid, was never intimidated and didn't back down from the challenge. It appears that the majority of Cro Cop's wins may in fact have been because he would walk his opponent down and choose when to attack rather than having his opponent dictate the pace. If you can bully Cro Cop, you can beat Cro Cop.

Mirko has a choice to make. Does he stay in the UFC and fight other lower tier heavyweights such as Justin McCully or go to Japan and dominate until he retires by beating pro wrestlers? One thing is for certain, his future does not contain a run at the heavyweight division.

Rich, on the other hand, usually follows up losses with strings of wins. The 205 lb division might prove to be very tough for him, however, because of the power that some of the fighters possess. Rich likes to stay in the pocket which means taking damage and against someone with power like a Rashad, Rampage or even Chuck (should he come back) it could mean another loss on the record. Rich has a lot of things working to his advantage though. He's very a likable and exciting fighter with the a load of talent. He will continue to put on exciting fights, but will he be a threat to any one's title at 205 or even 185? He would have to beat some top competition in order to accomplish that.

It seems that Rich came in with the wrong plan, or perhaps chose the wrong opponent. But neither of these will affect his future. He will come back, put on an exciting fight and possibly win. No harm done to his career as he sees himself more of an entertaining fighter than a top contender.

It seems to me that with time and the right circumstances, Rich could find himself in the top 5 again as he still has several good years ahead of him, but Cro Cop has already seen his time and watched it pass. Now that everyone in the UFC knows that his biggest weapons doesn't work, he would be simply shark bait for anyone else who would fight him here in the states.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Here is a fight of 2 similar fighters at two very dissimilar times of their careers. While Koscheck has been on the rise, Trigg has found himself somewhat floundering around outside of the UFC. While he has picked up a few impressive wins, he's also found himself on the losing end of some really tough battles (Robbie Lawler anyone?). Koscheck, however, has also found himself losing fights that he has no buisness losing. In a situation such as this, you have to take the overall best fighter and hope he doesn't lose his way. This case, that is Koscheck.

Daley vs Kampmann

Here we had a battle for the #1 contender at welterweight only a couple of weeks ago. Now we have an exciting fight with confusing ramifications. If Kampmann wins, does he get a title shot? If Daley wins, does he? My believe is neither will get a shot no matter how they win. Both are good fighters, but Kampmann has had more recent success against tougher opponents. I do believe Daley could get the win if he's focused enough, but Kampmann has too many weapons and should realize that even though this isn't for the #1 contender spot, it's still very important. Kampmann by Submission.

Cro Cop vs Dos Santos

Since entering the UFC, Cro Cop has never really found his groove. At a 2-2, it's hard to call him a contender for anything other than staying in the UFC. Of course with Cro Cop's stature, it's doubtful he'll ever get a gimme match.

Dos Santos comes riding high off of some great KO's in the UFC (most notably Werdum) and has nothing to lose in this fight. If he did lose, most people would chalk it up to a revitalized Cro Cop. If he wins, then he's an instant contender. I would expect this could relax him a bit because in some ways, he shouldn't win. This is when he does best. Dos Santos by TKO.

Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort

This one really complexes me. Mostly because a lot of people are not giving Rich a chance in this fight. I believe a lot of people are really forgetting how good Rich is. But this is no different than any other time Rich has faced a tough opponent. I personally have watched Rich spar with Robbie Lawler and it was a war. I believe he is ready.

Vitor is supposed to be fighting at 185, but can't even make 195 on the first weigh in? What is that about? This may be a sign of his mental state, or maybe it's just a coincidence. But if you are going to have trouble making weight 10 lbs above what you are going to regularly fight at, I have worries about your mental state/preparation.

In the main event of the evening former UFC heavyweight Champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (24-6, with 16 (T)KOs & 2 SUBs) squares off with rising prospect Jason Riley (6-1 with 3 (T)KOs & 2 SUBs) in the heavyweight division. Sylvia, formerly regarded as one of the best fighters in the world is looking to resurrect his career after some devastating losses.

Sylvia recently told HDNet's INSIDE MMA that Riley is, "...obviously out to make a statement. He wants to use me as a stepping stone. That's why he's taking the fight. I'm not going to let that happen". Riley enters the fight coming off two consecutive first round knockout victories and is looking to solidify himself as a heavyweight prospect.

"I would expect fireworks as some big names need some big wins - we will find out if they still have what it takes," said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. "Adrenaline MMA IV continues our commitment to be THE home of MMA as we give fans the opportunity to watch Tim Sylvia and Houston Alexander LIVE on HDNet."

In the co-main event of the evening, Houston 'The Assassin' Alexander (8-4 with 5 (T) KOs and 1 SUB) meets journeyman Sherman "The Tank" Pendergarst (11-14 with 2(T)KOs and 8 SUBs) in a light heavyweight special attraction. Alexander, one of the most exciting strikers in the world, is looking to snap a losing streak after starting his career 8-1. A native of nearby Omaha, Nebraska, he'll have extra motivation as he fights in front of his hometown fans.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Last night showcased the hilarity of Rampage, and the brutality of the sport. Is this good or bad for getting new viewers?

The Ultimate Fighter was created not so much to find the next great UFC fighter, but to encourage the main stream to get into the sport. So far it has done just that. Despite the many millions of people who have watched the show over the years, MMA is not yet main stream. This season is perhaps the most anticipated season in many years and new eyes will be on Spike. The reason for this, Kimbo Slice.

While you may or may not like Kimbo, the reality is that the ratings for this season are expected to go up because of Kimbo's involvement. So with all eyes on the first episode, many (those who aren't used to reality shows) probably tuned in to see how Kimbo does. We were given a spectacular Ultimate Fight Night to help bring fans in, but most would have probably only seen the last fight or so. What they really want is TUF.

So we get a ton of great one liners from Rampage which also probably helps keep the interest of new viewers. Personality is heavy in this season so it should be easy to find your favorite fighter. Then the fight came. It wasn't a great fight, but it was notable. There has not been a fight so bloody on the Ultimate Fighter ever. This is where viewers may have stopped watching.

Fans of the sport who are used to blood were even surprised by what we saw. It is very likely that people who might have given the show a chance were turned off by what they saw in the last 10 mins of the show. After such a spectacular start to the evening with UFN, some of what was gained may be lost by the amount of carnage that was shown in what would have otherwise been a boring fight. So this fight not only lived up to the serotype of 2 guys rolling around on the ground, but one of them who looks like they were just in a drive by.

Is this something that will hinder the growth of the sport at such a critical time? With so much momentum built up in the hype of Kimbo, will this bloody fight make it all for naught?

You don't want to miss tonight's show! We will be live directly after the Ultimate Fighter.

We expect to recap both the Ultimate Fight Night but also the Ultimate Fighter Season 10. We will be live at 11pm PST. This is being done so that everyone has a chance to watch the show before listening. Don't worry east coasters, the MP3 will be available tomorrow!

For the first time in quite a while, we have a full week of MMA! Not only do we get Ultimate Fight Night and Ultimate Fighter tonight, but we also get Adrenaline MMA and UFC 103 this weekend.

Starting with tonight lots of questions will be answered. Has Melvin learned how to survive on the ground with a true ground technician? Will Roger Huerta get the last laugh and leave the UFC with a win? Will Carlos Condit get back on the winning track or will he find himself on a losing streak?

We can't forget (as if anyone would let us) that the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 is on tonight as well. There has not been this much hype and interest about a TUF in several years. People who stopped watching TUF are going to tune in tonight to see how Kimbo, and possibly more importantly, Roy Nelson fair on TV's craziest reality show. Regardless of how he does, I'm pretty sure we will see Kimbo in the UFC at the end of all of this. There are plenty of rumors regarding how Kimbo does, but apparently most of them are wrong.

This weekend also marks the return to the ring of Tim Sylvia. Tim really needs a big win here because he is basically fighting someone who has nothing to lose with no real name to the general MMA fanbase. If Tim loses this one, he will have a practically impossible hill to climb to get back to relevance. Also making their return are Houston Alexander and Forrest Petz. Both fighters have had ups and downs in the UFC and really need a win to even consider being in the ranks of the world's most competitive organization.

Lastly we have UFC 103 which pits Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort. Many are choosing Vitor in this one, but my money is on Rich. He's only been beaten by truly excellent fighters and Vitor is much too up and down for my taste. Don't forget Cro Cop making his return to the Octagon as he fights Dos Santos. Look for Cro Cop to get tested and find out that he just can't hang in the UFC's upper echelon of heavyweights.

An incredible week of fights, get the popcorn and get ready, it's time to rumble!

Pretty much all of these champions have made fans and journalists alike ask the question “who can beat this guy?” The newest champion, Lyoto, still has to show us how he will do on his first title defense before we know if he’s a dominate champ, but his recent fights would indicate that he will be. The question for this article is which one will lose first?
I will pass over the ones that don’t appear to have any serious challenges at the time being. GSP has no one left in his weight class that poses an immediate threat. He has more or less cleared out the division. Same goes for Anderson. Nate and Dan look like good contenders, but Silva has been there, done that. BJ Penn, if he gets past Diego (and I think he will) will have very few legit challengers left, but will have a lot of options nonetheless.

This leaves us with Brock Lesner and Lyoto Machida. Obviously Lesner has the least experience of anyone on the list, but his size and athleticism have kept him successful in his short career. Lyoto on the other hand, has just not been figured out yet. It’s been said that once someone figures out how to properly fight Lyoto, the flood gates will open and he’ll rack up losses fairly quickly.

Lyoto’s next matchup is a defense against Shogun. This is a great matchup for Lyoto as I’m fairly certain his standup style will befuddle Shogun. Rua is not known to take many fighters down so this type of match up is perfect for Lyoto to keep his win streak alive. I don’t believe this will be the fight that will expose the trick to beating Machida.

This brings us to Brock. Brock fights a very tough Shane Carwin in a matter of months. This will be Brock’s biggest test because it almost takes away all of his advantages. He typically bullies his opponents based on size and strength. It seems that he will have to showcase some actual skill against Carwin. Shane, on the other hand, has fought some big opponents (specifically Gonzaga) and knows how to use skill rather than bully power. One other important thing that we don’t know is how Lesner will react when punched hard. We’ve seen how Carwin can adapt after being rocked, but Lesner has never really been put in a situation where he was in the danger zone with a striker that can knock him out. Obviously if he can pull out the victory, the chances of beating Lesner without Fedor making his way to the UFC will drop significantly.

My choice for the person most likely to lose his title first? Brock. I think there are too many questions left for Brock to answer when he fights someone his own size. Luckily we won’t have to wait long to find out.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Brock Lesnar has faced some of the best heavyweight fighters in the world. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® heavyweight title holder dominated seasoned veteran Heath Herring and put away former UFC® champions Randy Couture and Frank Mir. On Saturday, Nov. 21, Lesnar will have to pick on someone his own size when he takes on the undefeated 6-foot-3, 262-pound top contender Shane Carwin at UFC 106: LESNAR vs. CARWIN, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Also on the card, one of the brightest stars in UFC history returns, as former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz battles UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in what promises to be a ground war of epic proportions.

“Brock Lesnar has been tearing through everyone over the last year,” said UFC President Dana White. “But in Shane Carwin, he’s not only fighting someone as big as he is, he’s fighting someone who has ended all of his fights in less than three minutes. This is literally the biggest heavyweight title fight ever and may also be the most explosive.”

Tickets for UFC 106, priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300, $200 and $100, not including applicable service charges, go on sale Saturday, Sept. 19 at noon PT at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.UFC.com, www.mandalaybay.com, or www.ticketmaster.com.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, Sept. 18 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com.

UFC 106 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

A fighter that has dominated the competition in his last three bouts, Brock Lesnar (fighting out of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) is a four-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, and 2000 NCAA Division I National Champion college wrestler who has parlayed his amateur successes into a UFC world championship. A gifted athlete with the size, speed and power to impose his will on any opponent, the 6-foot-3 ½, 265-pound champion with a 4-1 professional record earned the UFC heavyweight title with a second-round TKO victory over UFC Hall of Famer Couture, then successfully defended his title at UFC 100 in impressive fashion with another second-round TKO against former UFC champ Mir. Now the 32-year-old Webster, South Dakota native looks to put the first blemish on Carwin’s record.

“I'm excited to get back in the Octagon on November 21st to defend my title,” Lesnar said. “I’m looking forward to fighting Shane Carwin. “He’s undefeated and I’m the man who is going to put an end to that.”

Shane Carwin (fighting out of Denver, Colo.) has done nothing short of destroying his competition. The former NCAA Division II national wrestling champion and All-American college football player has put away all three of his UFC opponents in under two minutes. The 34-year-old from Greeley, Colo. handed TKO losses to Christian Wellisch and Neil Wain before turning heads in the mixed martial arts community with a devastating 69-second knockout victory against title contender Gabriel Gonzaga. The heavy-handed heavyweight remains a perfect 11-0 in his pro MMA career and faces his toughest challenge to date.

“I was extremely excited when I got the news that I was fighting Brock,” Carwin said. “I couldn’t even sleep that night. This fight is going to be different for both of us. We’re not used to facing someone who equals us in size. I can see this fight taking place everywhere. We both have wrestling backgrounds, but hopefully we’ll get into some exchanges on the feet too.”

With the world heavyweight title already on the line, the world’s MMA leader has bolstered the UFC 106 card with the addition of the longest reigning light heavyweight champion in its history, as former 205-pound boss Tito Ortiz (fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) makes his return to the Octagon™ after a year and a half break. With wins over Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Ken Shamrock and Wanderlei Silva, Ortiz has mixed it up with the best in the world over the course of his career, and the 34-year-old with 14 wins in the UFC is now injury-free and planning to make another run at the light heavyweight title.

“It’s like a homecoming for me,” Ortiz said. “The back is 100 percent and it’s great to be returning to the UFC. Styles make fights and our styles are exactly the same. I expect a war and I expect more excitement from this match than anything else this year. There are a lot of people out there that expect me to succeed and there are a lot of people out there that expect me to fail. But I feel great and I’m expecting to win back my belt.”

Like Ortiz, Mark Coleman (fighting out of Columbus, Ohio) is a former UFC champion who wants to make a run in the light heavyweight division. At 44 years old, “The Godfather of Ground-and-pound” took it to the much younger Stephan Bonnar in July, earning a unanimous decision victory and proving that he has plenty left in the tank. The former NCAA Division I national champion wrestler from Ohio State parlayed that success into a UFC heavyweight championship and now this Hall of Famer looks for the 17th professional win of his storied career.Read more...

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Former UFC Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has apparently agreed to fight Brandon Vera on the UFC 105 card. The UFC has had quite a time getting a main event for 105 ever since it was announced. This is the card that will be shown on Spike TV so the opportunity to grow new fans is huge. Every time the UFC is on Spike, they need the impact to bring in new fans and having a Randy fight is a pretty good option.

The matchup itself is also an interesting one. Can Vera step up his game to the next level? Can Couture put Brandon in areas where he doesn't want to be? The turn around for this fight means both fighters are in good shape and should be at their best. Randy doesn't have much time left so he needs to get these fights as fast as possible. Title implications apparently are on the line for Randy if he wins convincingly. Most fighters didn't want to fight in England so apparently this was the carrot to get Randy to fight.

We'll talk more about this fight and it's implications on an upcoming show.

Friday, September 11, 2009

In case you are new to the show, some of our older shows aren't listed on this site. Obviously they can be played with the site player on the right hand side, but if you'd like to see some of the other guests we've had on, check out our BTR page for some insight. Going forward all shows will be posted here, I just wanted to make sure no one misses anything.

Also we are on iTunes and I've submitted the show for Zune as well.
Read more...

Thursday, September 10, 2009

MiddleEasy.com is reporting that Bob Sapp is making his way back into the Super Hulk Tournament. Honestly, this was a freak show tournament from the beginning and I'm glad that Mousasi is not in it any longer. He is the only real fighter in the tournament and risking a loss in a freak show event was never something I was high on. Thank goodness for him pulling out. Is he really injured or did he realize that being in the tournament was a mistake in the first place?MMA Frenzy says that Kenny Florian will make his return against a very tough Clay Guida on UFC 107. 107 was supposed to have the much anticipated Rampage vs Rashad fight but as we all know, the A-Team will take priority in Rampage's life for time being. Ken Flo doesn't get a easy fight here, Clay is battle tested and on his way up. His UFC record may not look impressive, but look at who he's fought and you'll understand why. Look for Clay to rough up Ken Flo but for Kenny to come out on top.

Also from Frenzy is an article about how Dan Henderson is a free agent. How the hell did that happen? What's even crazier is that most people didn't even know he was on his last fight against Bisping. It's funny because for most fighters we know exactly when their last fight is, but Hendo slipped under the radar. We are working on getting Dan on the show very soon to get his comments on the situation. Obviously he'll be back with the UFC.

And lastly Dana is once again calling Mayweather names but doing it in a funny way. White recently released a video talking about Mayweather's upcoming fight (or non-fight if you listen to what Dana says) and injects a little comedy in the mix. I really believe that Dana believes what he says, and if nothing else he's entertaining. At one time I thought that Dana was nuts, but the more you listen to what he says, the more the things he says come true. He's the MMA version of Nostradamus. Scary stuff if you ask me.Read more...

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Both guys tell us about their time on the Ultimate Fighter and how they feel about their up coming fights. Listen to hear about some of the behind the scenes happenings from TUF and what Nate Quarry means by 'toe strength'.